The following 6 posts represent a humble attempt to convey the key message of Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), the prophet-founder of the Bahá'í Faith, in his own words. Bahá'u'lláh declared to have brought a new Message from God to mankind, corresponding to its age-specific needs whilst re-affirming and deepening eternal truths brought by previous Messengers. The below summary of Bahá'u'lláh's message is conveyed through a collection of short passages from his Writings. Bahá'u'lláh spent most of his life under incarceration, transferred from place to place under the orders of two oriental kings -- the Sháh of Persia and the Sultan of the Ottoman Turkey. The final 24 years of his life were spent in the penal colony of Akka in the Holy Land where the bulk of his revelations occurred and were written down by scribes.

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I loved thy creation, hence I created thee.

Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee.

All things have I willed for thee, and thee, too, for thine own sake.

Thou art even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer’s knowledge. Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be made resplendent and manifest unto all the world.

All that which ye potentially possess can be manifested only as a result of your own volition.

True loss is for him whose days have been spent in utter ignorance of himself.

Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection, nor let your endeavours be spent in promoting your personal interest.

The world is but a show, vain and empty, a mere nothing, bearing the semblance of reality. Set not your affections upon it.

Verily I say, the world is like vapor in a desert, which the thirsty dreameth to be water and striveth after it with all his might, until when he cometh to it, he findeth it to be mere illusion.

Never shall mortal eye recognize the everlasting Beauty, nor the lifeless heart delight in aught but in the withered bloom. For like seeketh like, and taketh pleasure in the company of its kind.

Satisfied with the croaking of the crow and enamoured by the visage of the raven, they have renounced the melody of the nightingale and the charm of the rose.

They say: 'Where is Paradise and where is Hell?' Say: 'The one is reunion with Me; the other thine own Self.'

They hasten forward to Hell Fire, and mistake it for light.

Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold and with gold We test Our servants.

He is My true follower who, if he come to a valley of pure gold, will pass straight through it aloof as a cloud, and will neither turn back, nor pause.

And if he met the fairest and most comely of women, he would not feel his heart seduced by the least shadow of desire for her beauty. Such an one, indeed, is the creation of spotless chastity.

He should be content with little, and be freed from all inordinate desire.

He should consume every wayward thought with the flame of His loving mention.

He should succour the dispossessed, and never withhold his favour from the destitute.

He should show kindness to animals, how much more unto his fellow-man, to him who is endowed with the power of utterance.

He should not hesitate to offer up his life for his Beloved, nor allow the censure of the people to turn him away from the Truth.

He should not wish for others that which he doth not wish for himself, nor promise that which he doth not fulfil.

He should forgive the sinful, and never despise his low estate, for none knoweth what his own end shall be.

The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers.

Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.

The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.

All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.

Consort with all religions with amity and concord. Beware lest amidst men the flame of foolish ignorance overpower you.

These mighty systems have proceeded from one Source, and are rays of one Light.

Every Prophet Whom the Almighty and Peerless Creator hath purposed to send to the peoples of the earth hath been entrusted with a Message, and charged to act in a manner that would best meet the requirements of the age in which He appeared.

Beware, O believers in the Unity of God, lest ye be tempted to make any distinction between any of the Manifestations of His Cause.

This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future.

Women and men have been and will always be equal in the sight of God. Verily God created women for men, and men for women.

Close your eyes to racial differences and welcome all with the light of oneness. Forsake pride, it is the cause of discord.

Ye were created to show love one to another and not perversity and rancour.

Take pride not in love for yourselves but in love for your fellow-creatures.

Take ye counsel together in all matters, inasmuch as consultation is the lamp of guidance and the bestower of understanding.

Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.

The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice. By its aid thou shalt see with thy own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor.

In all matters moderation is desirable. If a thing is carried to excess, it will prove a source of evil.

Notwithstanding, ye walk on My earth complacent and self-satisfied, heedless that My earth is weary of you and everything within it shunneth you.

We find some men desiring liberty, and priding themselves therein. Such men are in the depths of ignorance. We approve of liberty in certain circumstances, and refuse to sanction it in others.

Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance.

True liberty consisteth in man’s submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it. Whoso hath tasted of its sweetness will refuse to barter it for all the dominion of earth and heaven.

Your people are your treasures. Do not rob them to rear palaces for yourselves; nay rather choose for them that which ye choose for yourselves.

O king! Rejoicest thou that thou rulest a span of earth when the whole world is worth as much as the black in the eye of a dead ant?

Gazing upon those who sleep beneath the gravestones, embosomed in the dust, could one ever distinguish the sovereign’s crumbling skull from the subject’s mouldering bones? Could one discern the lord from the vassal, or those that enjoyed wealth and riches from those who possessed neither shoes nor mat? By God! Every distinction hath been erased, save only for those who upheld the right and who ruled with justice.

Ye are but vassals, O kings of the earth!

He Who is the King of kings hath appeared, and is summoning you unto Himself.

He Who is the Father is come, and the Son, in the holy vale, crieth out: ‘Here am I, here am I, O Lord, my God!’

Be united, O Kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your people find rest. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice.

The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.

The whole earth is now in a state of pregnancy.

The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake.

Soon will the present day order be rolled up and a new one spread out in its stead.

These fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away and the Most Great Peace shall come.

The world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different from that of the child while still in the womb of its mother.

Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the peoples of the world. The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement of its peoples. They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the world of being, and through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest.

Alas, most people are fast asleep. They are even as the man who, in his drunkenness, became attracted to a dog, took it in his embrace, and made it his plaything, and who, when the morn of discernment dawned, realized that the object of his affection was but a dog. Then, filled with shame and remorse, he repaired to his abode.

It is clear and evident that all men shall, after their physical death, estimate the worth of their deeds, and realize all that their hands have wrought.

Man’s merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches.

The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life.